Advance Review: Cruel Summer Might Be Your Next Guilty Pleasure
Cruel Summer follows two girls, Kate (Olivia Holt) and Jeanette (Chiara Aurelia), over the course of three days in the Summers of 1993, 1994, and 1995. The first summer, 1993, is the lead up to Kate’s disappearance, the second (1994) and third (1995) focus on the events after Kate’s disappearance and how her disappearance affected Jeanette’s life. In the first episode of the two-part season premiere, the focus is all on Jeanette and certain days over those three summers that shaped and changed her life. Viewers get to see how Jeanette went from just a regular girl to Miss Popularity to enemy number one in three shorts years while also delving into the events that lead to Kate’s disappearance.
What makes this show unique is that each episode of the thriller is told from the perspective of one character. This direction might seem a little repetitive, but from the two episodes viewed so far, this style of storytelling allows for even more character development and character connection with the audience. Meaning viewers have more of an opportunity to understand characters’ actions and motivations while also creating their own reasons for why events turned out the way they did.
Olivia Holt returns to Freeform as the perfect and popular Kate. Holt is the perfect casting choice for this role and manages to play the sweet, but complicated teenager with the perfect amount of sugar and spice. Chiara Aurelia steps in as the other leading lady, Jeanette, who is a little harder to describe. Aurelia’s character manages to shed so many different versions of herself in the first episode alone that the only good way to describe her character is a chameleon, ever changing to fit their current environment. The duty of an actor to bring to life this type of character can be quite daunting, but Aurelia plays it with the ease of a veteran actor.
Freeform and fans of the network have been looking for their next Pretty Little Liars fix and Cruel Summer may just be it. It’s dark, full of twists, and will continuously keeps fans guessing after each episode. The episodes are catered towards a certain character’s perspective of events that transpired over the course of three summers, which makes for an even more mind-bending and complicated ride. If you are looking for a new guilty pleasure show to be watching, this one is for you!